The present invention relates to devices to amuse infants and children, and more particularly to a visual stimulation attachment for use in vehicles that attaches to the ceiling of the vehicle.
Protective child safety seats for use in vehicles are now the norm in many places around the world. In the United States, many states have laws requiring the use of child safety seats. For younger infants, the child safety seat is placed in the seat of the vehicle facing backwards, i.e., opposite the usual forward movement of the vehicle. The infant is left to see primarily the back of the vehicle seat and the vehicle""s ceiling. Without more, this view does not amuse most infants for very long. Various efforts have been made to provide entertainment or amusement for infants that are placed in child safety seats.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,188,745, and entitled xe2x80x9cinfant toy,xe2x80x9d describes a tube arrangement for suspending items in front of an infant in a child seat. The arms attach to the car seat by adhesive plates and thumbscrews. The toy suspends playing objects such as bells, mirrors, stars, or any other objects that are attractive to the infant from rubber springs. The tube system requires mechanical attachment to the car seat itself.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,321,768, entitled xe2x80x9ceducationally correlative amusement device,xe2x80x9d presents a device for amusing young children in a child safety seat. The device attaches directly to a bar of a child safety seat with a strap.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,540,219, entitled, xe2x80x9cinfant safety seat attachment,xe2x80x9d describes an attachment in the form of a wrap-around cover that is fitted to a child safety seat. The cover contains various items (e.g., stuffed toy, teething rings, rattles, etc.) for amusing the infant.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,113,454, entitled xe2x80x9camusement center for rear facing infant child seats,xe2x80x9d describes an amusement center that is supported by clips or straps that rests against the back of a car seat. The amusement center may contain photographs, pictures, stuffed dolls, etc. It appears to be a static display.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,183,335, entitled xe2x80x9csuspended display arrangement for vehicles,xe2x80x9d describes a device that rests on the back of a car seat in front of a child safety seat. The device includes an opaque back panel, a clear front panel, and a number of display units such as decorative articles that are suspended from short tether elements between the panels. The display units are configured to swing freely back and forth between the panels, i.e., in a two-dimensional plane, in response to the vehicle moving.
Therefore, a need has arisen for a visual stimulation attachment that addresses shortcomings of other devices used to amuse infants and children in car seats in vehicles and children in vehicles in general. According to an aspect of the present invention, a visual stimulation attachment for amusing an infant riding in a child safety seat or a child in a seat in a vehicle that has an interior ceiling includes a visually-stimulating background member and an attachment device (e.g., a micro-hook material) secured to the background member and operable to releasably couple to the interior ceiling of the vehicle. According to another aspect of the present invention, the visual stimulation attachment further includes one or more tether lines having a dangling member attached to it. According to another aspect of the present invention, the dangling members and/or aspects of the background member may include glow-in-the-dark images. According to another aspect of the present invention, the visual stimulation attachment further includes a decorative attachment that is coupled to the background member.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, a visual stimulation attachment is provided that includes a decorative attachment having an attachment device coupled to it for releasably attaching the decorative attachment to the ceiling of a vehicle. According to another embodiment, the visual stimulation attachment further includes a tether line structurally coupled at one end to the decorative attachment and at the other end to a dangling member.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a method of amusing an infant riding in a child safety seat or a child in a seat in a vehicle having a ceiling is provided that includes the steps of: providing a visual stimulation attachment having a micro-hook material secured on one side; and using the micro-hook material to secure the visual stimulation attachment to the ceiling of the vehicle above the infant or child.
The present invention provides numerous advantages. A number of examples follow. An advantage of the present invention, in one embodiment, is that the attachment device can be readily placed above the infant in a child safety seat (facing rearward or forward) and it will be in the child""s immediate view. Another advantage of the present invention in an embodiment with tether lines is that movement in three dimensions helps to amuse the infant or child. Another advantage of the present invention is that it can be quickly put into place and removed from a vehicle. Another advantage of an embodiment of the present invention is that it can be re-configured to present different themes or images to an infant or child. Another advantage of the present invention is that it can be quickly applied to help amuse an infant during the process of loading the child into a car seat.